BY KENN OKAKA
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna during a sitting in the senate announced of his intent to lead in the amendment of the Sports Act to allow not only more funding to sports federations but also transparency in team selections and the overall development of young talent in Kenya.
This indeed, we appreciate the legislator’s action of putting a voice to support sports and particularly football which is the most popular sport in the country.
However, Sifuna should understand that Football Kenya Federation (FKF)operates in all transparency and there are tangible results to lay on the table to that effect.
Sifuna said that he has sponsored a Senate bill ta amend the sports act which will allow counties to make an allocation of at least one percent of their equitable share revenue to support sports associations.
Sifuna lambasted FKF for what he said that there is corruption and favoritism in the selection of the national team. “We want to know what happens to the talented players we see at the grassroots level who are never selected to the national team. There are allegations of corruption and favoritism in the selection and the most frustrating thing is that you cannot touch the FKF because they have protection of FIFA,”Sifuna said.
Sifuna must be reminded to comment from a point of knowledge and should stop playing to the gallery and stick to facts as he should be well aware of the feeling people bear when falsely accused. It is currently a political season at FKF and he should stick to facts when addressing serious issues having in mind that the election process at FKF had initially been halted by the courts and not gimmicks from the federation officials like he insinuated. The court orders baring the elections have since been lifted and the FKF is currently in its electioneering period with a Special General Meeting already convened.
Furthermore, if indeed there was favoritism in team selection by the national teams coaches and the coaches were calling up players based on other things rather than performance on the pitch, Kenya would not have qualified Africa Womens Cup of Nations in 2016, Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in 2019 and the Under 17 FIFA Womens World Cup scheduled to be played in October 2024. Indeed, during this stint, Kenyan national teams have played and performed well in several matches including against Asian teams Qatar and Russia as well as African teams including the current African champions.
Infact, since Nick Mwendwa took over as the FKF President in 2016, the administration cannot be accused of using FIFA to defend misdeeds because there are none in the first place. FIFA audits FKF every year and indeed every federation and for a national association to qualify for the next allocation from FIFA, they must demonstrate that they put the FIFA funds in the correct and intended purpose because FIFA never supports corrupt federations.
For your information, FKF has actively partnerd with corporates like Safaricom, Azam, Mozzartbet and other partners and this multimillion agreements can only be possible because of the transparency at the federation.
The current FKF has laid emphasis on capacity building. The federation has capitalized on the development of coaches, referees and other stakeholders involved in the game who in turn impact the growth of the game, these actions have only started being implemented in Kenya since 2016 when the current FKF took over and indeed, youth football is evidently on the rise. It is from the youth talent development that we grow the next generation of stars.
The football Kenya Federation has made a deliberate effort to professionalize football; this has led to clubs now paying salaries to their players who are legally and professionally contracted.
Sifuna could have forgotten that the problems he is pointing at are things of the past and every coach selects players who will bring them good results. The frustrations are understandable but he should learn that it is no longer the case. Coaches have been well trained and these coaches are impacting the game from the grassroots level to the top level.
Kenn Okaka is a communication expert and a football stakeholder
